This is an old one from March of 2016 when I spent ten days on the St. Johns river in Florida on Mike Ramy’s boat. This was actually taken on one of the tributaries (the Oklawaha) on our way back toward the St Johns about half an hour before sunset. Technically, this is a composite image, because I clipped that one little feather sticking down from the tail and had to grab some extra for the bottom from the immediately prior frame that had a lousy head turn.
Is the composition OK. I keep wanting to retain the flower, so it’s a bit of a wider crop than I might normally do.
Any pertinent technical details:
7DII, Sigma 150-600 C 2 484 mm, hand held from boat, f/6.3, 1/500, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 14 MP from a horizontal original.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Dennis, This is a wonderful take of this osprey. I really like the portraiture you’ve captured of this guy with the posturing of his head. The yellow eyes , beak, and talons tell the story that this guy means business…
These guys were always favorites of mine when I was using 35mm long lens gear.
I had to comment on this point. I not too long ago had to do that with 2 LF images. The top was good on one and the bottom was good on another…
Great pose from this fellow and really nice detail - I was about to ask where you found this fabulous lichen in the PNW, until I read the rest of your post about Florida.
I might try dampening the bright sky behind the bird.
I’m unsure about the red bromeliad stalk on the right - I like it, but it sure draws my eye.
Sandy
Nice detail on the bird and nice job on the blending. I like the idea of framing in the image (moss on the left) even though it leaves the bird centered in the frame. Really like the vegetation included on bottom. I have mixed feeling on that pink flower - I really think it could be taken out without lessening the fine impact of the image.
For me, I find this an exceptional look at an Osprey-nice pose and excellent detail and rendition of the coloring. I could see an even tighter crop to focus more attention on the Osprey, removing the Spanish Moss on the left and the red stalk on the right.
FYI: Sandy’s use of the word ‘bromeliad’ made me head for the dictionary: "Any of the chiefly tropical American usually epiphytic plants comprising the pineapple family and including Spanish moss and various ornamentals. " Taken from Olaf Bromelius, a Swedish botanist.
I love seeing birds framed by Spanish moss, so this is right up my alley. IQ on the osprey looks good, light is very nice, and the setting is great. I like the red flower. My only suggestion would be to try and come in from the top a bit, and if you have it, add a little more to the bottom.
